


at the right time

by jjokkiri



Series: 12 days of jjokkiristmas [12]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-03-02 14:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13320078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjokkiri/pseuds/jjokkiri
Summary: Two winters after his graduation, Kihyun returns to Seoul to meet up with an old friend to catch up, and reminisce their younger years.





	at the right time

Snow covered the streets of Seoul and the flakes still continued to fall from the sky, as Yoo Kihyun walked through the streets, towards the small café which he’d promised to meet his friend, Im Changkyun, at. Traffic had been crappy and the drive took a lot longer than he’d anticipated. He didn’t remember the traffic in Seoul being so terrible, but it had been years since he’d returned to the city. He had been forced to park several blocks away from the café and, as the seconds ticked away on the watch around his wrist, he felt terrible for making Changkyun wait for him.

Making his way around the people who were walking down the streets, Kihyun surveyed his surroundings. There were couples holding hands with one another, parents walking with their children, and busy employees talking on the phone with someone, still dressed in their uniforms—he supposed they were students, trying their best to balance a part-time job with school and trying their best to work as many hours as possible, during their holiday break.

At twenty-seven, he could barely remember when he was in high school and doing the same thing as them—desperately trying to make money and save up to go to a prestigious university, somewhere across the ocean. At twenty-seven years of age, he was working and satisfied with where he was in life; no longer a child who was trying his best to fit in with the people around him, and no longer a graduate who didn’t know what to do with their degree.

Visiting Seoul was a decision on a whim, when he texted Changkyun and the younger man had ecstatically inquired when the next time he’d be in the city would be. Most of the time, he was only driving through the city to get to a more remote city, where a client resided. He was rarely in Seoul to stay—the last time he’d gone to the city was when he was much younger and he’d tagged along with Lee Minhyuk to attend some college party in Changkyun’s old apartment. And thinking back to that time, it was so long ago; he barely remembered the night, save the one moment that he had to help Minhyuk out of the apartment and try to keep a part of his best friend’s dignity.

That was the last time that he’d seen Changkyun in person, but they kept in contact, after Changkyun worriedly gave him his number and made him promise that he’d text him to update him on Minhyuk’s state. Even when Kihyun flew across the Earth to Vancouver for university, Changkyun made the effort to keep in contact with him. And at some point, Kihyun swore that he talked to Changkyun more frequently than he spoke to his own best friend.

He couldn’t help but feel nervous to see the younger man again. The reality struck him when he was finally standing in front of the café, promises to fulfill and no reason to turn back. He hadn’t seen Changkyun in years, and finally, they were going to be catching up over coffee and snacks? Somehow, it made him nervous.

Reaching a leather-gloved hand towards the glass door and pulling the door open, Kihyun stepped inside the café, feeling his cheeks immediately warm up from the temperature inside the café, compared to the frigidity outside.

The small, short-haired girl who he’d seen sitting down, through the glass windows of the café, quickly stood up and put on her best customer service smile for him, when he stepped into the café and shook the snow off of his hood. As she reached behind the counter to grab a menu for him, Kihyun flashed a small grin and shook his head, refusing it before she could trouble herself with bringing it over to him.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m here to meet someone,” he told her, polite smile on his lips as he shook his head, “They’re already seated, so I’ll be alright. Please, just enjoy your break.”

She hesitated, but when he turned to search for Changkyun in the café, he could see the relief in her eyes in his peripheral. _She’d probably been working a long shift and hoping that it wouldn’t be too busy today,_ he reasoned with himself. That was what he would have hoped, at her age, when he was working multiple part-time jobs to save up for all the expenses that came with wanting an overseas education.

He caught sight of the young man’s dark blue hair from the corner of his eye. Changkyun seemed to notice him at the same time, because the younger man raised his hand to wave Kihyun over (and a part of Kihyun was grateful that Changkyun chose to do so, because all he was given as a recent description of Changkyun was that his hair was blue).

Walking over to the booth that Changkyun had chosen to sit at, the twenty-seven year old man unbuttoned his coat to drape over the seat beside him, before he took a seat. Changkyun flashed him a bright smile, when he took a seat and Kihyun’s lips immediately found themselves curving into a mirror of the younger man’s expression.

“Hey,” he greeted, nodding his head a little at Changkyun. The dark blue-haired man grinned at him, pushing a mug over to him. He glanced down at the whip cream-topped drink that was nudged over to him. He raised both of his eyebrows in curiosity, and Changkyun shrugged his shoulders.

“Hey, I hope you still like hot chocolate,” he said, the sound of his voice somehow so much deeper than Kihyun remembered it being. But, if it surprised him, then he was sure it didn’t show on his face. “I wanted to get you a drink, and I just kind of went off the whole idea that everyone should like hot chocolate.”

Smile not fading from his lips, Kihyun nodded, “Thank you, that’s really sweet of you. And everyone likes hot chocolate, unless they’re allergic, I’m sure.”

Pleased, Changkyun beamed at him.

And for a moment, Kihyun was suddenly struck with the realization that he was being way too dramatic, when he was nervous about meeting up with Changkyun. Looking at the younger man’s bright smile, now, he had to admit to himself that in the passing years, keeping in contact with Changkyun really prevented this from being the one of the most awkward encounter of his life. It was comfortable to talk to Changkyun, because they were friends, even if they didn’t see one another in person, often.

“So, how have you been?” Changkyun asked him, taking a sip of his own drink. Kihyun tilted his head, picking up the mug and bringing it to his lips. He couldn’t help but smile over the mouth of the cup at the younger man.

“You’ve been texting me all this time,” he replied, “You know exactly how I’ve been.”

Changkyun rolled his eyes with a laugh, “You know what I mean. I only know the generic things about work, nothing in detail. We don’t talk that often, you know?”

“I guess you’re right,” Kihyun answered. “We really don’t talk a lot. But, it kind of feels like we do.”

Teasingly, Changkyun looked at him, “Is it because you have no friends?”

Snorting in amusement, Kihyun feigned an offended huff. “What are you talking about? I have tons of friends. I just don’t talk to them as much as I probably should.”

Changkyun chuckled, “Says the guy who tagged along with his best friend, when he was twenty years of age, because he had no one else to hang out with on New Year’s Eve.”

“Changkyun, that was seven years ago,” Kihyun argued, resisting the urge to pout at the younger man. But, Changkyun was right—he had few friends, and even less of whom he kept constant contact with. He’d always been a firm believer that he didn’t need a multitude of friends, when he had few close friends.

“And based on everything you text me about, on the rare occasion that you text me first,” Changkyun responded, face painted with a wickedly teasing grin, “You’re always either working or sleeping, so I don’t think you spend very much time hanging out with these many friends of yours.”

“They’re low-maintenance,” he replied. Changkyun laughed.

“You’re saying things have changed in the seven years since that night?”

“Of course,” he replied, nodding his head, satisfied smile on his lips when Changkyun smiled at him and dropped the teasing about the state of his friendlessness.

 _“Oh!”_ Changkyun suddenly exclaimed, clasping his hands around the warm mug in front of him. “I always wanted to ask, but I always thought that this was something better suited for talking about in person, so I never asked you.”

Kihyun raised a curious brow at the younger man, “What is it?”

Pausing, Changkyun seemed to take a moment to try and assemble his words. Kihyun waited patiently, hands folded in front of him on top of the table. The hesitation lasted several moments; Kihyun strangely felt nervous.

“Do you remember Hoseok hyung?” Changkyun started, slowly. Kihyun’s memory was immediately jolted at the mention of the name. His eyes raised to meet with Changkyun’s again—surprised at the mention of someone he hadn’t seen in years. “Did anything ever happen between you two, after that night?”

 _That night_ —Changkyun was referring to the night of the party, when Minhyuk had successfully coaxed him into tagging along with him to the party, because he didn’t want to go alone (and because he needed to have someone by his side who would prevent him from being _completely_ embarrassing). The plan to keep Minhyuk from being not-embarrassing hadn’t lasted very long, because Kihyun had been completely taken by the handsome, red-haired stranger whom he’d immediately clicked with. Shin Hoseok was captivating in all the good ways, and they’d spent the entire night talking to one another on the balcony—Kihyun had practically abandoned his purpose of being at the party, because he was so focused on talking to Hoseok.

A part of him really believed that everything about Hoseok was everything he ever wanted in a partner—a lifetime partner. But, perhaps, they’d met one another at the wrong time. Perhaps, Hoseok was _the one_ for Kihyun, but they just happened to stumble upon one another at the wrong time. Meeting Hoseok was a blessing by chance, but everything about their planned lives didn’t match up with one another. Kihyun wanted to fly to Vancouver for his post-secondary education, and by the time he would graduate and return to South Korea, the grand scheme of Hoseok’s life goals were to fly to Paris—establish a name for his career, there. Somehow, it seemed that they were supposed to be a chance meeting, followed by a consecutive series of missed opportunities.

They’d talked about everything, that night. Hoseok seemed to be interested in everything that left his mouth—the red-haired man even looked genuinely intrigued, when he mentioned that he was dreaming of graduating with a mastery in mathematics, when everyone around him usually offered a dry laugh and a quiet _‘are you sure?’_.

And in the same way that Hoseok was enchanted by him, he’d felt the same way about Hoseok. Maybe it had been the alcohol, but perhaps not, because Kihyun woke up the next morning, still wishing that he didn’t have to part with Hoseok. He woke up wishing that there was some way to reroute their meeting to an earlier time in his life—maybe before they’d both had their dreams set in stone, because then they’d be able to work things out to accommodate one another. He woke up the next morning with his lips still tingling from the sweet kiss he shared with Hoseok, when the clock struck twelve and the apartment rang with excited screams of young men welcoming a new year; a new timeframe with infinite opportunities and possibilities.

And for the past few years, an absent part of Kihyun’s mind hoped that he and Shin Hoseok weren’t two tangent lines that only met one another at one point in their lives. A hopeful part of him wanted them to meet one another again, sometime later in their lives, and if fate allowed it, then they’d both be single at the time of their next meeting.

So, with his lips pulling into a small, sad smile, Kihyun shook his head.

“No,” he replied, staring into the steaming mug in front of him, “We decided that it wasn’t worth it to put in so much effort, when we would be spending years away from one another.”

“That’s really too bad,” Changkyun remarked, resting his cheek in his palm and leaning against the table. “I remember being almost drunk out of my mind, that night, but I’ve never seen Hoseok hyung so taken by someone in the same way that he was with you. You two would have been really good for one another.”

Kihyun nodded his head, answer sounding soft—regretful of a missed opportunity, but not of his final decision, “I know. But, we both agreed that it wouldn’t be a good idea to get to know one another, when we had such big dreams, and that it wouldn’t be a good idea to try to manage a long-term long distance relationship, when we were so focused on fulfilling those dreams. I didn’t have any plans of coming back to South Korea, until I graduated, and neither of us had the financial reason for him to come and visit me in Canada.”

Changkyun pursed his lips, nodding in understanding. “It’s hard to try and manage a long distance relationship, when there’s no idea of when you’ll see them next, right?”

Again, Kihyun nodded. “It just wasn’t the right time, I guess—the time that we met, I guess.”

“That night opened so many opportunities for you,” Changkyun remarked, “Didn’t you get a job offer, too?”

Kihyun laughed, nodding his head, “Hyungwon was drunk out of his mind, when he offered me a job in his father’s company, but I definitely was offered a job.” A pause. “Oh, but speaking of opportunities, Changkyun…”

The younger man raised his brows, curious, “Yeah?”

“Did anything happen between you and Minhyuk?”

Changkyun lips pursed into a frown, “We fought, again.”

Suddenly confused, Kihyun tilted his head, “You fought? Over what?”

“He wants to adopt another puppy,” Changkyun sighed, “But, we really don’t have enough room in our apartment for the two of us and Caramel, let alone _another_ puppy.”

Caramel was the puppy that Minhyuk adopted from an animal shelter when he was still in college—she was a small, adorable, crème-coloured puppy with floppy ears coloured accordingly to her namesake. Having been overseas for years, Kihyun hadn’t ever gotten the chance to meet her in person, but she was always jumping at the camera when Minhyuk video-called him. He had a soft spot in his heart for her.

“Caramel? Has she gro— _wait, you live together?”_

Bewildered, Changkyun eyed Kihyun oddly, “Did Minhyuk never tell you?”

“Tell me _what_?”

“Kihyun hyung…” he started, slowly. “We’re _dating._ We’ve been dating for about two and a half years, now.”

Jaw dropping, Kihyun nearly spat his hot chocolate out— _“He never told me!”_

“Never? Not at all?” Changkyun asked, “He didn’t even mention that he was seeing someone? What kind of best friend does that? I’m going to complain!”

“He mentioned that all of his romantic dreams finally came true,” Kihyun said, feeling slightly flustered with his lack of knowledge about his own best friend, “But, that was a night when we were drinking together, over Skype. I didn’t think that he was actually _serious_. That was also like, two years ago? But, after that, he never mentioned anything else about his love life!”

Softly, Changkyun’s cheeks coloured and he averted his eyes, _“Oh.”_

Then, there was a silence between them.

“Do you know how long he’s liked me for? He refuses to tell me, when I ask,” Changkyun asked, softly. Chuckling, Kihyun raised his brows— _somehow, he could definitely see Minhyuk being too embarrassed to admit how long he’d actually been infatuated with Im Changkyun for._

“He’s liked you since way before that party at your place,” Kihyun said. “That’s why he made me come with him. He didn’t want to make a fool out of himself in front of you. But, he kind of failed, didn’t he?”

Laughing softly, Changkyun nodded his head. There was a glimmer of fondness in his eyes, and Kihyun felt his heart grow warm at the sight of it. Somehow, knowing that one of their love lives worked out accordingly to all their wishes was comforting to hear. And Kihyun would never admit it aloud, but he was happy for Minhyuk—ecstatic about it all.

Changkyun chewed on his bottom lip, seemingly thinking for a moment before he spoke up again.

“When was the last time you talked to him?” Changkyun asked, tilting his head.

Kihyun furrowed his brows, thinking about it for a moment. “I actually spoke to him on the phone, yesterday. He said that he was in Osaka for the week—something about an important business meeting.”

Nodding his head, Changkyun pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

“Yeah,” he replied, “He left for Osaka earlier this week. Caramel’s been throwing a tantrum, because she misses him and there’s apparently nothing I can do to calm her down.”

“She won’t even calm down for treats?” Kihyun asked. Changkyun shook his head.

“It’s okay, though, because Minhyuk’s actually headed back into the city, tonight. I’m going to take Caramel over to Hyunwoo hyung’s place, after she gets to hang out with Minhyuk for a bit, because she loves him.” Changkyun said, popping a marshmallow into his mouth and smiling at the older man. “We had some plans to go out for dinner and then grab some drinks at the nearby bar. I’m sure he’d like to see his best friend, again. Would you like to join us?”

“I think I’ll pass,” Kihyun told him, shaking his head. “I have to head back to Ilsan to meet a client, tomorrow morning. Drinking would be a bad idea, tonight. But, I’ll make sure that I let you guys know, next time I’m in the city.”

“ _Ah_ … so, you know your limits?” Changkyun asked, grinning playfully.

Kihyun shook his head in disbelief, but snickered at the joke, unable to help himself. For someone who graduated with a mathematics degree, the joke should have been so overused, to the point that it couldn’t be funny anymore. But, it seemed that no matter how many times someone cracked the same joke to him, it always made him laugh.

“I guess you can say that I do,” he replied, smiling.

“Don’t be a stranger, okay, hyung?” Changkyun said, suddenly. Kihyun peered at him, curiously, and the younger man shrugged his shoulders. “We know you’re busy, but it’s always really nice to see you. And, who knows, what if you find yourself running into some more opportunities with all of us around?”

Laughing, Kihyun nodded his head, eyes sparkling over the rim of his mug, as he took a sip of his drink.

_“I’ll do my best.”_


End file.
